Derby takes shine off Melbourne home auctions

Melbourne auctions hardly made it to the starter’s gun on Saturday as the city turned its attention to Derby Day, the start of Melbourne Cup carnival.

Only 151 properties were auctioned compared with 1128 for last weekend’s “Super Saturday". The Real Estate Institute of Victoria said the clearance rate was 62 per cent, down from 66 per cent last weekend.

Melbourne’s highest result was for an Ethel Street, Malvern, property, which sold for $1.75 million through Abercromby’s agent Tim Derham.

Two bidders took the price to $1.72 million, where it was passed in, then later sold after negotiations.

Mr Derham said he had discussed the auction date with the vendors who had decided to sell on Derby Day but they held the auction well before the races.

Related Quotes

Company Profile

“The buyers held off on their long weekend so they could attend the auction. If people want to buy a home, they will."

Mr Derham said he does not expect the Reserve Bank’s announcement on rates on Tuesday to have an impact on the market.

“I doubt that rates will come down this week, the banks are quite reckless and if any of them do pass on the cuts, they do it a month after the announcement anyway,’’ he said.

In Sydney, there were just under 500 homes auctioned. The clearance rate was 65.8 per cent, down from 68 per cent last weekend, Australian Property Monitors said.

The most expensive sale was a Court Road home in Double Bay, which sold for $3.1 million through McGrath agents Peter Starr and Bernadette Berlyn.

Mr Starr said there were five bidders registered and three competed for the house. “It didn’t need a vendor bid, it got itself going,’’ he said. “There are buyers in this market, if you price a home correctly you’ll end up four or five deep."

A house in Tamarama in the eastern suburbs changed hands for the first time in 60 years, selling for $1.76 million after bidding opened at $1.7 million. Selling agent Adrian Bo of McGraths said stock was tightly held around Tamarama and so any sales always generated interest.

“I think clearance rates have improved because buyers and sellers have more realistic price expectations. There is not a lot of stock around and interest rates are low, so that is creating a bit of competition in the market,’’ he said.